


Toybox Cats

by timeless_alice



Series: In Our Room, After The War [1]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Animal Death, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Worms (The Magnus Archives), Gen, cat storyline paralleling human storyline, human Jon Sims makes an appearance, non-canon compliant for the cats, quasi-varjak paw au but no prior knowledge required, the canon compliant is that the human storyline is as it should be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29168373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timeless_alice/pseuds/timeless_alice
Summary: After a month of neither tail nor whisker of his missing little brother, a desperate Tim approaches the Magnus Institute to see if the cats who made a habit of sticking their noses in whatever oddities came their way have any information.Sort Of-Varjak Paw AU set within main universe. No prior knowledge of those books required- they're just cats.
Series: In Our Room, After The War [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2126724
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	Toybox Cats

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: remember to keep your cats indoors

It had been nearly a month without sign of tail nor whisker from Danny, and Tim was growing more desperate with each day that passed. His paws ached against unrelenting concrete as he trudged through the city that he must have combed through half a dozen times, ears flicked back and orange, white tipped tail low; there was one place left to check, a sort of last resort when all other avenues had failed him.

A gang of cats had made their territory around one of the city's academic buildings, who collected stories of any and all oddities that occurred whether they were true or not. Investigated what they could, too. If anyone had any information on what had happened to his brother (the night prior to his vanishing Danny had been acting so strange, talking about things that didn't make sense, though Tim shoved the image of his terrified brother out of his mind before he ventured too close to that fire) he reasoned, it would be them. At least he hoped so, as he approached the old, menacing building that loomed above the street like something ready to pounce and devour the unaware humans that walked by without giving it a second glance. The fur along his shoulders bristled, and he took a moment to pause, ducking out of sight from any human that might look down the alley, and stare at the shadows cast about the place in the growing evening. His tail flicked and he took a deep breath, letting it out in a low huff to steel his nerves.

"Hey," a voice chirped beside him before he could take a single paw step, and he nearly jumped out of his fur. He whirled around, coming face to face with a brown tabby whose whiskers were twitching with amusement. "Didn't even smell me coming, huh?" Her sharp green eyes narrowed in further mirth and she lifted a white toed paw to lick and draw over her ears. He hadn't, distracted as he was with his thoughts swirling and worry prickling like ice through his veins.

"Lucky for me this is neutral territory," he said, smoothing out fur and trying to sound as lighthearted as he could. The purr he wanted wasn't quite achieved, though she didn't notice.

While the territory belonged to the Magnus Gang - though Magnus, its first leader, was long dead - by their nature anyone could roam freely through it. Hunting wasn't an issue either, as word was some of the academic staff would leave out food for the cats that lurked around.

"Still, better to keep your wits about you," she said. "Never know what's about to happen around here!"

She said it like a joke, but some of the more superstitious cats tread carefully around there with all the rumors that clung to the area. He wasn't quite sure he believed it all himself, but that wasn't why he came in the first place.

"So, are you here to tell your story?" she asked primly, not bothering to elaborate, her tail held high with its tip twitching. "I don't know where Jon is right now, but-"

"No, I'm here for information," he cut in, perhaps a little too harshly; she seemed taken aback with his tone, her eyes growing wide and ears flicking back, with its words sharp. Though, at least, it didn't quite reach the realm of hostile. He went on, forcing his voice to be a little more steady, those rough edges a little more rounded, "I thought if anywhere would be able to help me, it'd be here."

She considered him for a moment, head tilted to the side as she considered whatever it was that was running through her mind. After a moment of this, in which he considered just moving on to find someone else because he did not have time for this, she said, "All right." She sounded a little brighter, but less so than when she had snuck up on him. She brushed past him with a jaunty step and a flick of her tail under his chin. "Let's go find Elias, then. He's the one who keeps everything straight."

He paused a moment before following, turning the name over in his mind as he picked through all he knew of the gang. Which wasn't all that much. "Elias? I thought your leader was named... James, or something?" He quickly caught up to her with his long legged strides, and slowed to match her pace.

Without breaking stride she sent him a sidelong glance, and then she replied, "Oh, you hadn't heard? James died a while ago, and Elias took over. Before Jon took over his position, though I guess that one's more common knowledge." She shrugged; most cats coming to interact with their gang met with whoever it was collected the stories, not the group's leader. And Gertrude's vanishing had caused ripples, but no great alarm. "Not that it makes much of a difference, if you ask me."

Tim did not ask how the old leader had died, though it sent a chill up his spine and bristling along his fur nonetheless. Dead, not vanished. The tabby beside him either did not notice, or did and decided not to comment as she led him closer to the imposing building that made up the heart of their territory. The scent of it struck him full force, making nose twitch and almost sneeze. It he was not unfamiliar with the smell of libraries, having lurked around some other old buildings and grown familiar with the smell of old paper and wood and stone, but there was an undercurrent of something else. Rotted, decaying, like the smell that hung in the air around old cemeteries. She didn't acknowledge how strange that was, just continued on her way.

A part of him wished to just leave, to free himself of this place that simply felt _wrong_ , but it warred against the desperation and fear that pulsed in his throat. A losing battle. He needed this lifeline.

The two remained silent as she led him around towards the side of the building, only pausing here and there so she could sniff around in search of his elusive Elias. Tim himself kept on alert, mouth slightly open to catch whatever scent he could hidden within the stench of the academic building and swiveling his ears to pick up any odd sounds. The unfamiliar added in with the sense of unease this place brought with it and the anxiety that was already swirling in his chest made his paws twitch; even the mundane crashing sound of a bin falling over would have sent him bolting.

He heard him before anything else: the open and shutting of a door, followed by uneven footsteps and the clicking sound of one of those devices he'd seen some humans use when they needed help with walking. His back arched, slinking away to crouch in the shadows and behind some alley debris, to watch from their safety. A bad run in with a human was the last thing he needed. The tabby didn't look bothered at all, and he prepared to hiss a warning to her when she turned to face the human, sitting back on her haunches with a loudly meowed "hello." He almost couldn't believe it, but these cats had to be strange, he thought, to willingly live somewhere that made him feel so uneasy.

The man was largely unremarkable, as far as Tim was concerned, though his dark skin where it was exposed was covered in small circular marks - scars, maybe - that struck him as a little strange. The man made a sound of delight, crouching down with a hip kept at an odd angle, to gently stroke the tabby's back and between her ears. In turn she purred, almost echoingly loud, springing to her paws to rub against his calves. Frustration boiled in him, and if it weren't for the fact it was a human he would have called out to her on getting distracted. This was just wasting his time.

This went on for some time, though he couldn't say how long. It could have only been a few minutes, but his annoyance stretched every heartbeat into an endless eternity. There came a moment where the man stopped, looking up from the tabby, and Tim pressed further into his hiding spot, hoping that his orange and white fur wouldn't give him away; it was then he caught the scent of another cat nearby. His ears twitched as the man held out his hand and began to gently call to the newcomer, who approached with heavy paw steps. Soon, a large cat with thick fur the color of cream that bordered on yellow came into view, headbutting against the man's hand, which trailed down his back and along his bottlebrush tail.

Tim, just about fed up with the whole dead end of this stupid, time wasting decision, was looking for a way to slip away without the notice of the man as he doted on the two cats who circled around him, when it finally drew to an end. The man braced one hand against his knee and pushed himself to his feet with the help of his cane and a soft, pained grunt. He said something more to them, though Tim couldn't tell what his tone was supposed to be let alone what he was saying, as the two cats brushed against his legs one more time before he turned and walked off, steps slowed by a limp. Tim waited for a few heartbeats more, listening until the man's footsteps were swallowed up by the noise of the city, all the while watching the tabby greet the fluffy cream cat by headbutting against his chin.

"What the hell was that." He could barely contain the growl that bubbled in his throat as he stalked from his hiding spot.

The cream colored cat's ears went back and his tail impressively doubled in width in his surprise, looking ready to bolt, but the tabby only twitched her tail in dismissal.

"The humans here like us," she said. "We take the time to say hello."

"Who's this, Sasha?" The cream cat sat down, fur flattening out even as he watched Tim lash his tail. His paws shifted nervously, and he averted his eyes to look elsewhere.

The tabby, Sasha, pricked her ears and blinked, shock and some degree of embarrassment coloring her features. "I don't know. I forgot to ask." She turned to Tim, and he tried to bit down the hiss building in his chest, though he was sure his fur was bristling. She went on, "I'm Sasha, and this is Martin."

"Tim," he said, coolly. To Martin, and as a reminder to Sasha, he added, "I'm here to speak to Elias."

Martin looked a little shocked at this. "Usually cats come here to talk to Jon," he said.

"That's what she told me," Tim said. "But I'm here for information, not to tell my story, or whatever it is you cats do here."

The look Martin gave Sasha was a pointed one, his ears tilting back and his head cocked ever so slightly to the side, and she shrugged. "If whatever he needs involves us," she said, as if anything about Danny's story prior to his disappearance could possibly not involve their kind of oddities, "I thought it'd be smarter to ask Elias to point us in the right direction, instead of hunting down everyone in the gang."

"Oh, well." Martin tossed his head in the direction of the back of the building, before getting to his paws. "I saw him back that way- he's probably still there. You know him, never far from the institute." He brushed past them, heading towards the street and the city beyond. " _I'm_ off to find Jon, wherever he went."

"Good luck!" Sasha called after his retreating back, then started off in the opposite direction without so much as a glance in Tim's direction; he followed after, in something closer to a stalk than her jaunty trot. "That Jon, always sticking his nose into trouble. I swear, if he's not careful he's going to get snatched up one of these days and we'd probably never see him again," she said.

Breath caught in Tim's throat and he froze, ears flattening as the thoughts he tried to keep at bay pressed behind his eyes. His brother, with his red orange fur standing on edge and eyes so wild that Tim could see the white of them, his voice trembling as he tried to explain what he'd seen (two cats, inky black, moving as no living thing should). And Tim had pressed against him, tried to smooth out fur and offer gentle reassurances of safety as he led Danny towards their typical hideaway to get some sleep. Danny had fallen asleep with his nose tucked between paws that twitched with fear that Tim had not quite managed to sooth; he was gone by the time Tim awoke. not a trace to be found to let Tim believe that he'd just gone off to hunt or explore on his own. He was simply gone.

Tim's promise of keeping him safe, that nothing would hurt him, tore through his chest and rang in his ears.

"Tim?" Sasha broke into his thoughts, her tone thick with worry as she raised a gentle paw to prod at his side. "Everything all right?"

He jerked away in his surprise. The chill of the cement ground of the alleyway seeped through the fur of his haunches, and he hadn't realized he'd sat down at some point. He shook out his limbs one by one and then his head, dispelling the thoughts that clung like cobwebs, getting back to his paws.

"It's nothing. I'm fine." The words fit oddly in his mouth, creaking a little as he said them, and he could tell that Sasha wasn't buying it. And so he sighed, allowing his shoulders to slope a little and tail to droop. "It's just that someone close to me is... _missing._ And I'm at the end of what I can take." He forced a small laugh, one that he knew wasn't half as convincing as he'd hoped. "I suppose you mentioning never seeing that Jon guy again touched a nerve."

She regarded him for a moment, tilting her head to the side as she considered something. Tim knew that the next logical question would be if he was sure humans hadn't been the ones to do it, but if that was the case he wouldn't be there. Someone would have seen him, and word would have gotten back to Tim. That's how it always went. So instead, she just gave him a sympathetic look, though she stopped short of nuzzling against him, which he was half expecting.

"Sorry," she said. "I did mean taken in by humans- Jon's got a bad leg, and you know how they are." She lifted one of her back legs for a moment, as if to demonstrate her point, before daintily placing it back down to ground. "Its funny, actually, he got hurt only a few days before that human you just saw got hurt."

Tim did not comment on how strange a coincidence that was.


End file.
